Operation: Justice
by Lauren Order
Summary: In order to get Mr. Wright out of his "depression", Apollo goes in search of an actual paying job. Although, as he finds out, it's not going to be easy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the official franchise names that I've used here. Also, this contains spoilers for AJ:AA. Consider yourself warned.**

"Polly!" Trucy walked in on Apollo Justice as he was putting away files from his most recent case.

"Hmm…?" Apollo muttered. "What do you want this time?"

"Well, I was thinking… Daddy's getting pretty old…" Trucy started.

_Being in your early thirties is __**not**__ old!_ Apollo thought.

"… and he's sad because he wants grandkids…" she continued.

"WHOA, do _not_ look at me! We are _related_, remember?!" Apollo shouted.

"…but, that's beside the point. What I was actually going to suggest was that we save enough money to buy Daddy a pony so he won't be lonely," Trucy said with a grin on her face.

Apollo just stared at Trucy for what seemed to be a lifetime, and then replied, "How old are you again? You don't buy people _ponies_ for companionship!"

"But… they're so fluffy and lovable!" Trucy protested.

"Someone's been watching a little too much 'Pink Plutonium Ponies'," Apollo said. "If Mr. Wright is lonely, I would suggest getting him a date."

"A- a date? But, that costs money! Which we don't have enough of!" Trucy complained.

"So? A pony costs _way_ more!" _Wow, this kid's sense of logic is bad. It's a good thing she's got perception to get her through life,_ thought Apollo.

"Have you even _been_ on a date, Polly?" asked Trucy.

"Um… of course I have! The girls all loved my 'Chords of Steel'!"

"You're lying, Apollo, and I can prove it! Your hair drooped during that last statement!" Trucy shouted. "Gotcha!"

"Aw, crap. Why'd she have to have perception?" Apollo said to himself. "Enough with this foolishness; are we going to raise money or what?" he asked her.

"Sure! But, Polly, you're going to have to do it."

"What? Why me?" Apollo asked.

"Well, I can't have a full-time job! I've got school! So you're going to have to get training for your new job," Trucy said.

"Huh? Why can't I just keep being a lawyer?"

"Polly, I don't know if you remember, but our last few cases were failures concerning money. We haven't gained a single cent," Trucy lamented.

"Not true! I found a penny stuck in some gum at People Park!" Apollo announced triumphantly.

"Well, no matter. You're going to have to get a job, and that's that. Unless you want to give Daddy a grandkid. I hear they're on sale at Babies R' Us."

_She has no idea what she's talking about_, Apollo thought.

"Polly! Are you even listening?" Trucy waved her hand in front of his face.

"Y-yeah! I already have training, anyway. That is- 'Chords of Steel' training!" Apollo got out his "Rock Band" microphone.

"No! You know what happened last time," Trucy warned as she glanced towards a boarded-up window surrounded by shards of glass.

"Oh. Right. Maybe I should try drums instead." Apollo got out his "Air Drummer" virtual drumsticks and started hitting the air wildly.

"HEY! Watch out. You'll take someone's eye out with that, kid," Phoenix Wright said as he walked to the refrigerator. "No more grape juice? I guess I'll just have this beer instead…"

"Polly, find a job quick! Before Daddy gets any worse!" Trucy begged after Phoenix had stormed back to some secret hiding place.

"Ok, already. But, I could just buy him some more grape juice…" _And I don't see Mr. Wright as the alcoholic type to begin with_, Apollo thought.

"Polly!" Trucy yelled angrily.

"All right, I'll find something. Just don't expect me to be playing piano at the Borscht Bowl or anything like that." And with that, Apollo was off.


	2. Chapter 2

"What would get me a lot of money, yet still be really fun?" Apollo pondered as he roamed the streets.

All of a sudden, he saw it. The chance of a lifetime. The Berry Big Circus was in town!

Apollo strolled up to the office outside the large tent. He had heard some stories from Phoenix about this circus. He looked around for any flying, heavy objects. Seeing none, he knocked on the door to the office.

"Knock-knock. Who's there? Underwear! AHA AHA AHA AHA!" shouted a man with an obnoxious laugh. The door opened and Apollo stared at the clown in a ringmaster's suit that appeared before him.

"The name's Lawrence Curls, but you can call me Moe. What can I do for ya?" the clown asked.

_You have __**got**__ to be kidding me_, Apollo thought. _This guy's way too old to be "clowning" around. And his jokes suck!_

"Uh… actually, I'm looking for a job. Do you have any openings?" asked Apollo.

"Well… wait! Are you a lawyer, by any chance?" Moe asked excitedly.

"Of course I am-" Apollo caught himself. Trucy had said no more lawyer business. "-not," he finished.

"That's too bad. Our ventriloquist was going to pay one million dollars to a lawyer who could get him a restraining order against his puppet," Moe explained.

_What __**is**__ it with my bad luck?_ Apollo thought.

"However, we do have an opening for 'Elephant Caretaker'," offered Moe. "It pays fifty cents an hour."

"I'll take it!" screamed Apollo in a "Chords of Steel" manner.

_I'm gonna get rich,_ Apollo thought. _By the end of the first day, I'll have four dollars! That's enough to buy __**four**__ burger meals at the burger joint!_

"Ok, then," Moe said. "Just sign here, here, here… and here! AHA AHA AHA AHA!"

Apollo finished signing his contract without actually reading it, because he would've had to read lawyer terms.

"Great, great! You're just the kind of person we need. Ready for anything!" Moe pushed Apollo out the door. "Just show up tomorrow at nine o' clock in the morning, and you'll learn the rest as you go along."

Apollo started back to the Wright Anything Agency. _Trucy's going to be so happy… Mr. Wright will get a date in no time!_ he thought.

Finally, he arrived at his destination. He walked in the door, only to find Phoenix staring at him.

"Hey… Mr. Wright… how's it going?" Apollo managed to say with a weak smile.

"Hey… Apollo," Phoenix answered. Unlike Apollo, Phoenix was not smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated for about a year. But I was really stuck on how this story was going to go. My apologies to anyone waiting.**

"What's the matter?" Apollo asked.

"Someone's been taking my beer. Was it you?" Phoenix asked Apollo.

"No, sir! I'll get to the bottom of this for you, though. No need to worry!" Apollo inched his way out of the room.

He went straight to his office, tucked away his copy of the contract, and headed outside, making sure to go out the back door. He had only gotten about twenty yards away from the building when he heard a familiar voice.

"Get your nice, cold beer! Fifty cents a bottle!" shouted the person.

Apollo headed towards what looked like a lemonade stand. He found a person giving bottles of beer to people who were in line. The person was dressed in beat-up sweats. As he got closer, Apollo realized it was Trucy.

"Trucy?!" Apollo shouted. "What are you doing here? And what's with the ridiculous get-up?"

"Shh! You're going to give me away! I'm making good money by selling this beer. And the hobo costume is helping," Trucy answered.

"You've got to be kidding me," Apollo said.

_She's wearing what seem to be Mr. Wright's casual clothes. And I didn't think he could get any more casual…_ he thought to himself.

"Look, Polly. I've already got ten dollars. How much have you made again?"

"That's what I was coming to tell you about. I got a job at… hey, wait a minute, Mr. Wright had _that_ much beer in the fridge?"

"Polly! Where did you get a job?" Trucy demanded.

"At the circus," Apollo responded.

"The circus! And you didn't invite me?" Trucy yelled. "Circuses always need magicians!"

"Sorry," Apollo said as he backed away. "You were the one who said you couldn't have a job!"

"Well, what job did you get, anyway? Are you the guy they fire out of a cannon?" asked Trucy.

"No! Definitely not. Gunpowder plus Apollo Justice don't mix," Apollo hastily replied. "I'm an elephant caretaker now."

Trucy immediately burst out laughing.

"What's so funny? I'm doing my best, here. Besides, elephants are _serious business_! And wait 'til you hear the pay: fifty cents an hour!" announced Apollo.

"Polly, I think _you're_ the one working for peanuts instead of the elephants. We'll never get enough money at this rate!" Trucy slapped him in the face. "Take that!" she shouted.

"I thought you would be happy…" Apollo looked away from Trucy. She ignored him. "Fine. Just give Mr. Wright his beer back. He needs it," Apollo said as he marched away.

Tears started to fill his eyes as he wandered the streets for the second time that day.

"I… can't cry. That would just show that I care what Trucy thinks," he told himself in a wavering voice.

The pressure was building, however, and the more he thought about what had happened, the more he felt he was a failure. Finally, he couldn't take it. He burst into tears. Not wanting to be seen, he ran into the nearest building.

About fifteen minutes later, he realized he had walked into the local trading card and comic book shop. He sniffled a few more times and looked around for service.

"Hey! You gonna buy somethin', or are you just gonna stand there?" came a voice from the front counter.

"I- I'm just looking," Apollo answered in a hoarse voice. He walked up to the counter to see who was there.

"Whoa, you don't look so good," said the person at the counter.

Apollo finally got a good look at who he was talking to. She was a woman who seemed only slightly older than Apollo himself. She had straight, black hair that was partially tied up, and she was wearing a vintage "Steel Samurai" t-shirt and jeans. Apollo couldn't help but stare at her mesmerizing beauty.

"Dude! Don't faint in here! The other day, some kid collapsed from an asthma attack and I had to call 911!" the woman said.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to collapse," Apollo said with confidence.

"Ok. By the way, what's your name?" the woman asked.

"Justice. Apollo Justice. And what might your fair title be?" Apollo had never flirted with anyone before. But he figured he might as well try. After all, that's how they do it in the movies…

The woman laughed at Apollo's antics. "My name… is Maya Fey. Nice to meet you."

Apollo collapsed.


	4. Chapter 4

Apollo was walking along a country path. It was dusk. He was trying to figure out where he was, and more importantly, why he was here. All of a sudden, a strange shape that looked like an upside-down teardrop with a hole in it appeared on the path before him. He approached it curiously.

"What do you want, dear?" the shape said as a face appeared in its place. The voice belonged to Apollo's great-aunt Gertrude, who had passed away when Apollo was only six years old. His memories of her were foggy, but Apollo still recognized the voice immediately.

"What? How are you talking to me? I thought…" Apollo was happy to see her, but still frightened because he had no idea what was going on.

"It doesn't matter, Apollo. I wanted to tell you I'm proud of you and everything you do. There's no need to feel bad about yourself."

"Aunt Gertrude, I don't know where I am. Can you tell me, maybe?" Apollo was getting more and more confused with every passing second.

"If you want to know, just open your eyes to the world around you. Wake up," Aunt Gertrude told him.

"What? How do I do that? I'm already awake. Really, I am."

"Wake up," Aunt Gertrude kept repeating. "Wake up."

Light flooded into Apollo's vision, which was suddenly blurry.

"Wake up! Please, dude, don't make me call the paramedics!" The voice did not belong to Aunt Gertrude anymore.

"Whuu?" Apollo sat up. He suddenly remembered everything that had happened previously. "Did I faint?"

"Looks like it. You scared me so much. Don't do that again!" Maya Fey was looking at him, truly concerned.

"You- you're actually _the_ Maya Fey? The one that knows Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked.

"You know Nick?" she asked in reply.

"Yes, I work at his office… well, I used to. He told me about you, but I never thought you would look like this! I mean… well, not that you look bad. You look- great!" Apollo stumbled over every word he said.

"You mean… why am I not in spirit medium clothes, right?" Maya looked like she expected this question from everyone.

"Well, yeah. Basically, that's my question."

Maya sighed. "Well, consider this. Even though I am the Kurain master, do you think that means I get free giveaways?"

"Why not? That's a pretty important job," Apollo answered.

"Well, I don't. In fact, almost everyone thinks I'm a crackpot. I think ever since my mother… took that job," Maya said.

Apollo nodded. He knew what she was referring to. Mr. Wright had mentioned a historical case where Misty Fey, Maya's mother, was brought in by the police to aid in the investigation.

"I had to get a job. A good paying one that could support Pearly and me. If I didn't have this job, I don't know what I would do," Maya said.

"Do you really get paid that much here?" Apollo asked.

"Well, not from my salary… but as you can imagine, the tips are plentiful when these nerds see their first real live girl who isn't their own mother."

"Are you still the Kurain master, though?" Apollo wondered aloud.

"Yes, but I don't have very many duties except to keep training. Oh yes, that training is quite enjoyable," Maya said as she got a grin on her face.

"Am I missing something here?" Apollo said.

"Well, I train at the beach right after my shift's over. Let's just say… I've been learning to surf."

Apollo immediately tried to block the image of Maya in a wet suit from his head, even though he was enjoying it.

"I know where Mr. Wright lives, if you would want to visit him," Apollo said.

Maya seemed to consider the idea for a few moments. "Well, why not? I would have stayed in contact with him, but he started traveling and I couldn't find out where he was anymore. To think that he ended up back in the same city again!"

"Well, uh… the only thing is, he lives kind of far away from here, and…" Apollo mumbled.

"…And you can't drive. Naturally, all lawyers seem to have a fear of driving." Maya said.

Apollo could think of plenty of lawyers who could drive and actually enjoyed buying sports cars for their own use. But he decided not to argue with Maya. She was always going to be right, whether she really was or not.

"Luckily, I learned to drive, so I can get us there. My shift ends in a half hour, so make yourself comfortable 'til then," Maya finished.

Apollo sat down and started reading an old copy of the "Pink Princess" comic book. He began to wonder if seeing Maya would cheer up Mr. Wright. He desperately hoped that it would.


End file.
